Meet Our Pastor

Reverend Dr. Irene Taylor

A personal message from Pastor Taylor:
“I am excited about my ministry because there is never a dull day. Today’s church is in constant transition.  We are planted in the midst of communities that are constantly changing. I see this as an opportunity for God to do great things if we remain open to the leading of God’s Spirit. My heart’s desire has been to pastor, and God has blessed me richly. Because of the love, compassion, and mercy God constantly shows to me, I cannot think of anything I’d rather do than serve God by serving God’s people.”

Pastor Taylor for more than thirty years has faithfully served the Lord by spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Her ministry is a holistic ministry that seeks wholeness in the lives of God’s people through spiritual formation and development, using the spiritual disciplines of the Christian faith to transform and empower God’s people.

​The path to leadership.
Reverend Dr. Irene Taylor was the Senior Pastor of The Living Faith United Methodist Church of Waukegan, Illinois before coming to our church. Prior to her appointment to Living Faith UMC, she served 15 years as the Senior Pastor of Ivanhoe Community UMC in Riverdale, Illinois. 

She received a Doctorate of Ministry Degree in the area of Spiritual Formation from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, in 2005. Her doctorateproject was  Christian Spirituality: A Resource for Equipping, Enabling, and Empowering African-American Youth. She received the Masters of Divinity Degree from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois and a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago. 

Pastor Taylor answered her call to ordained ministry in 1983. She was ordained in 1989 at Christian Church Baptist in Chicago, Illinois under the pastorate of Reverend Brenda J. Little. In 1997, she sought to have her credentials recognized by the Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church and was granted full membership as an elder in the United Methodist Church in June of 2001.

Accomplishments
She has held multiple positions in ministry, including being a member of the Field Education Department at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, Associate Minister at Bethany Baptist Church, and Assistant Pastor at Second Baptist Church  in Evanston.

She served on the executive board of Women Spiritually Empowered, an outreach ministry to women and teen girls.

She is also a retired Chaplain of the United States Army Reserve, and former Director of Admissions & Recruitment at Northern Baptist Theological Seminary in Lombard, IL

Rev. Taylor served as a member of the discussion group Black Women’s Leadership Roundtable about violence against women and girls. She was a board member and presenter with Women Ministry in the City, an outreach educational program to female seminarians throughout the country and worldwide. ​